George Brown Memorial
Please visit our memorial Facebook page and share your memories of George.
Biography
George Brown was born on Feb. 12, 1929, in Mateszalka, Hungary, the youngest of four children to Moritz and Matild Braun. He was 15 when Germany invaded his country in March 1944, and his family was forever changed. That May, they were given 30 minutes to pack before being sent with other Jews to a ghetto, where they had to share one bedroom with two other families. In June, they were shipped to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland. In his speeches, George recounted in chilling detail what happened to his family. His mother and his sister, Lili, were separated from the rest of the family. His mother died at Auschwitz-Birkenau. 
His sister was killed in Poland. After a hospital stay because of frostbite, his brothers were sent to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany. Bela died in a British bombing raid. Erno was freed but captured by Russians because soldiers thought he was a German prisoner. He did not survive. In early 1945, with Russian troops closing in, the labor camp was evacuated. George, his father and the others there were forced to walk miles to reach trains taking them to the Ebensee concentration camp in Austria. His father started sharing his meager food with his son, hoping to keep him alive. In March 1945, his father was sent to the camp's hospital. He died later that month. George was freed in May by American soldiers he called "my angels." His emotional talks about the Holocaust were "a way of honoring his father each and every time he had the opportunity to speak. He also took part in the Museum of Tolerance's
Tools for Tolerance program for law enforcement and criminal justice professionals.
In 2005, George was introduced by Rabbi Eli Rivkin to the activities of Chabad of Northridge, and was inspired to become a beacon of philanthropic support of their educational, religious and social services programs. In 2007 he was honored at Chabad's inaugural Gala Dinner. He was an inspirational symbol of hope and resilience to all that had the privilege to interact with him.
George passed away on June 18, 2010-Tammuz 6, 5770. As a tribute to his inspirational leadership Chabad renamed the Hebrew School the George Brown Chabad Hebrew School. He is missed dearly by his wife, Joan; his daughter Debbie, his son, Mark; and his five grandchildren. May his memory always be a blessing.
Memorial Video that was shown at George's Shloshim Memorial
George's Famous Speech. Filmed at Chabad of Northridge in 2007 by Don DiSimone
George is Honored in 2007 at the Gala Dinner Cruise
A Tribute to George by Don DiSimone
Click here to learn more about the George Brown Chabad Hebrew School.
Click here to donate to Hebrew School Scholarship Fund
